2008 LR3 HDC,special programs faults-rear differential motor

over the past two years I have had a few times where ther xmas display popped up on the dash ,but a simple restart on the car would erase it. never said anything to Land Rover about it. Replaced the battery 1 month ago. Last week the lights stay on all the time. car drives fine -but you can hear the rear diff motor running a few times (I presume not catching)on start and shut off of car.

I checked the fuses- seems ok- I replaced the blue brake thingy under the sterring wheel dash too- nothing changed.

Took it to a independent rover repair shop here in san diego and he says it needs a new rear diff motor(and its expensive- a few k)

What would you recommend I do. buy a extended warranty maybe?
Car drives fine but is in the lower position- i dont go off roading so dont really care about it ,but the lights are annoying.

Well, it would be pretty dishonest to buy a warranty when something is broken.

You can get the diff motor for a reasonable price from Justin & Lucky8. He also has reman differentials, and rebuild kits. A few K would be a whole diff at LR.

There is a shop in the LA area that has rebuilt a couple. Check that wiring to ensure the cable is connected well, and no wires are broken. You might also try to run it through the calibration routine and see if it snaps back to working order.

I reputable shop should be able to install the motor in less than and hour + cost of the motor.

What exactly does the rear diff motor sound like? Are you sure you aren't hearing your EAS Compressor? That would make more sense...plus the rear diff motor would have nothing to do with being stuck at the lower suspension setting.

A few select 3's have an electronic sort of locking extra special rear differential package. The stepper motor that everyone is referring to is the sort of round black motor like bit at the top where the computer cables feed into. Yes, computer cables - a stepper motor is not what you see on your average electric locker. Land Rover is as usual, away head of the curve.